Devil's Ridge
by coop500
Summary: Lucifer must do a daring race, much to Chloe's dismay, to save a witness to their most recent case. (Warning, a child is safely swallowed in this fic, not harmed but I know some folks find it disturbing nonetheless.)


Chloe Decker, mother of a 8 year old and a LAPD detective held a foam cup of coffee in her hand, sipping down the warm, caffeinated fluid as she sat at her desk, staring at the computer screen of camera footage. She noted the slight darkening of her desk when a shadow appeared, a quick breath through the nose with the coffee lowered revealed the scent of the owner's colgan, getting a good idea who it was from that.

She swears sometimes he just appears out of the blue, but other times she seen him just walk so obviously it was just she was too focused on her work to hear him this time. Oddly enough she didn't hear him speak, but she could feel him looming and while she was not easily shaken, it was distracting to have someone just standing there quietly and watching you.

Soon she paused the footage and looked up at the man standing before her, sharply dressed in a three piece suit, minus the tie, his hair perfectly combed, eyes bright and devious as always with a smirk plastered on his face. "What Lucifer? " She asked, the name slipping from her lips without a second thought. She had grown used to using the name over the time she had been friends with him and it wasn't like she had anything else to call him by.

Lucifer's smirk widened of course, hands slipping casually into his jacket pockets. How he managed to look almost perfectly dressed and pampered while she was barely awake at this hour was beyond her, but she tried not to let it get to her. They were not competing for a beauty contest after all. "Whatever are you asking, detective? I'm here, as usual to help you punish the guilty of course~ "

Chloe sighed, she was not mentally prepared today for his Luciferness… they didn't pay her enough for this truth be told but she enjoyed the work in the end. "Usually you say something but instead you were just…. there, watching… " She trailed off, it sounded silly out loud but it was true! It was breaking her concentration. "If you want a update for our case, then you could have asked. " She added, assuming that may be what he was hoping for.

He leaned closer, one hand slipping out of his pocket to gesture to her in a sense of 'go on'. Getting the hint she continued, ignoring his closer presence. "So there was a witness to the murder in the alleyway, but when they tried looking for her, she was gone. Checking camera footage shows she was kidnapped by two masked adults in a black truck with a silver cab. There's no plates on it and traffic cams have been no help yet. But we might be able to get a face off this footage, Ella is already on it. " She stopped to take a breath, then a drink from her coffee before adding. "I was looking to see which direction they went, which looks like possibly to the north. With any luck the traffic cams will catch something though. "

Lucifer would make various sounds to assure he was listening, his gaze focused sharply on her. But then he frowned, deciding to speak up now. "I didn't know we had a witness. " Yesterday they were going blind since they couldn't find anyone who saw what happened or even heard anything. "I didn't know either, but turns out there was a runaway orphan girl in that alleyway at the same time, hiding behind some junk. We barely caught her face on the footage of it but when some police went back, she was not there. Then turns out, from this footage from last night someone took her. I'm not sure if it's the killers that took her or someone unrelated. But either way we need to get her back. "

Chloe looked up to see he had a displeased look on his face, probably from the mention of her being an orphan. "She's seven Lucifer, I know. But that just means she needs our help even more. " She snapped a little at him, causing him to sigh in response. "Fine fine, so what do we do? " Lucifer asked, but just then Ella came in after knocking on the wall, carrying a tablet in her hand. "Traffic cams caught the truck driving towards the edge of LA. " She informed.

That answered his question and he grinned with delight. "Shall I drive detective? " He asked, the question filled with too much glee for her liking. "No, we'll just drive like normal, sane human beings until we get there, alright? Which means I'm driving. " She didn't really feel like driving again, but drinking the rest of the coffee helped as she stood up, tossing the foam cup into a nearby trash can.

Lucifer deflated a little at that, but did not object for now and just agreed, following her out to her police car, but getting into his own corvette instead of joining her. Chloe was going to ask why, but she was too worn out to care much. "Whatever, just don't speed by me, alright? " She told him as he got into his seat of the convertible. "Of course detective, I will be right behind you~ " He said with a almost second meaning in his tone. Chloe just rolled her eyes and walked to the police car, getting in and starting it up.

Sure enough, Lucifer stayed behind her and didn't crowd her, she knew this was probably unusually slow for him and she still did not know why he brought his car, but focused on the road solely after a while since it seemed like she didn't have to worry about being passed by him or rear ended. She was talking to Ella over the phone who was watching the cams the best she could to tell Chloe where they were going, eventually ending up on a dirt road in the desert leading out to a old gas station that wasn't in service anymore.

There were no more cameras out here, there wasn't even one at the gas station anymore, but they saw the truck parked outside so they assumed it was them and they were here. Chloe parked on the opposing side of the station, out of direct view of the truck, Lucifer having followed behind her and parked beside her car, some of the dust on the road sticking to the black car. He'll have to clean it later.

The two got out of their vehicles, Chloe going first of course as she creeped around the gas station, looking for the two kidnappers or any signs of the child. They walked by a trash can close to the door, but she didn't want to cross in front of the glass door without knowing if anyone was there or not. The human woman bit her lip, noting the faint puff of breath on the top of her head from Lucifer looming behind her. At least he didn't just wander out there and get shot at.

What he did next was not much better. "Excuse me, kidnappers? Are you still here? " He called out towards the door, his voice casually mocking. Chloe felt her heart skip a beat and her blood boil. What the hell was he doing she wondered? Trying to get everyone killed? There was no answer though… but of course they probably would not want to give up their position, unlike what Lucifer just did.

She turned and glared at his neck over her shoulder, not feeling like tweaking her own neck looking up at his eyes at this angle. However just when she figured they would stay quiet, they didn't. "Who's there? Are you guys cops? " A male voice asked, sounding young. Lucifer then walked around Chloe, stepping into the open and looking around. "I'm not, no. But the more important question is who are you? " Chloe couldn't help but just cringe the whole time, gun at the ready as she stayed quiet, looking for movement or signs of life.

For some reason though… the suspect decided to come out of the store, a handgun not so much unlike Chloe's at the ready and trained at Lucifer. "Who I am doesn't matter…. now what do you want? " Lucifer had his back turned to the store, but casually spun around to hear the voice again. "Why the child you took of course, you do have her don't you? " He seemed unfazed by the gun, even though he really should be concerned and deep down he knew it. But he refused to show fear under the situation.

She had to give Lucifer one thing, he had nerves of steel, whether it was from bravery or stupidity she couldn't be sure. But he remained casual even with a gun pointed at him by a possible killer. Her gun trained on the human man, or… boy, he was pretty young, not a child of course but if she had to guess she'd say he was only about 21. He looked even younger alongside Lucifer, who by appearance was well into his mid 30s.

The suspect looked confused, the child? That's why he was here? "What, is she your kid or something? I don't see the family resemblance. " He spat, glaring at Lucifer. Though his answer had made Lucifer smile, since he did get his question answered. "So you do have her then. " He stated, stalking slowly towards the other male with the gun. "But no she's not mine, she has information that I need however and I must speak to her. "

The human backed away from the approaching Lucifer, a little unnerved by the look in his eyes… Something here was not right. "Well she's not here… my boss has her. " He answered, hoping that would appease him, but instead he just kept coming closer, his steps picking up the pace. "Go on~ " He urged in a smoother voice once the human's back touched the outside wall of the store, narrowly missing the entrance by about a foot.

A gunfire would bring police, plus a dead guy, so the gunman didn't really want to shoot… plus he'd never killed anyone before. It was more obvious when he began to shake the gun hand a bit, his nerves taking over. "M-my boss is supposed to come back in a few hours… I guess you can wait for him. " He said, hoping now that would be enough to appease him.

This was not how Chloe wanted to do this, but… it was happening, Lucifer was used to dealing with shady people so maybe this could go down without bloodshed. She decided to tuck her badge a little out of sight, incase she was caught she did not want to be pegged as a cop. Thankfully the car she took here was just black like Lucifer's corvette, so it was not obviously a police car. Again, not how she wanted to do things but she had to go along with it now.

Lucifer did stop then, back in a few hours? That was promising. "Very well, I will wait then. " He said, backing off and allowing the gunman to relax slowly, weapon still trained on Lucifer but starting to shake less. "What do you plan on offering? " The younger male asked, a confused frown on his face to Lucifer's method. The Devil however just hummed, as if he didn't think about that. "I'll ask what he wants, everyone wants something after all, everyone has a desire. "

The way he said desire unnerved the gunman a bit, this guy was really really strange… He still never seemed to care he was unarmed though and was just going to sit here and wait? He didn't reply and just took a seat by the door of the gas station, gun still trained on the casual Lucifer. Chloe meanwhile was just thinking of how many ways this all could go wrong verses how many ways it had to go right… The ratio was not good in her mind.

They waited those few hours needed, only idle chatter happened between the two males, mainly Lucifer talking and the gunman not wanting to answer or said as very little as he could, but seeming nervous of the older man throughout the entire time. He clearly was not very trusting of him and worried about accidentally saying too much about something.

Eventually, a red car drove up and pulled beside the truck. It was not just any car though, it was beautiful… this year's model, McLaren 650s. A man even older visually then Lucifer, probably in his 40s was driving. Parts of the man's brown hair was grey in color, along with the beard he sported. Dust was kicked up but Lucifer ignored it, instead standing tall and watching the boss he presumed turn off the car and get out, glaring at Lucifer instantly when he saw him. "Who is this? " He demanded of the young gunman, who was also now standing, not far away.

He shuffled a bit on his feet, gun still in hand but no longer trained on the Devil. "H-he just came by, said he wanted that little orphan we grabbed last night. " He explained to the boss, who crossed his arms and gazed up at Lucifer, not seeming to be as intimidated by his presence as the gunman was. "So you want the kid, eh? Well we were going to sell her overseas, probably could get a pretty penny for her to the right people…. Can you beat that? " He asked him,his voice cold and harsh.

Lucifer kept his cool though, no matter how much he wanted to just grab the man and threaten him, give him the good ol Devil treatment. But he knew Chloe was nearby and watching, a double no no. "Maybe, maybe not, but surely there is something you find more entertaining and desirable than mere money… " Lucifer trailed off, walking closer to the bossman with a widening grin again. "So c'mon, tell me… what do you desire more than anything~? "

The boss still did not flinch, just watching as Lucifer neared, all the while the young gunman raised his weapon to Lucifer, obviously wanting to protect his boss if the Devil attacked. At first he wondered if his powers were not working on the old man, but finally he wavered… glancing to the gunman, then to Lucifer. "I want to do something… different but exciting for a change, something daring and dangerous but not like what I have been doing… no more like…. like a race. "

The Devil frowned, having not expected that but was curious nonetheless. "Really now? Well…. I may be able to arrange that… How about we race for the child? Winner keeps her. " The boss hummed to the proposition… Before shaking his head. "I already have the kid, I wouldn't benefit much from that if I win. " He challenged Lucifer, turning stern again.

Lucifer took a deep breath, looking around in thought before letting it out again. "Fine, if you insist on being difficult... if you win… you keep my car as well. " He didn't much like putting the corvette at risk, but he had nothing else to offer right here, right now and they needed that kid. The man blinked, looking around. "Where is your car? And what is it? " From that question, the Devil deviously grinned… before turning and walking away, not saying anything.

The gunman moved to follow him, but the boss grabbed his arm to stop him, curious to see what Lucifer was up to. He past by Chloe, but didn't look at her, not wanting to give her position away. Instead he got into his corvette and started the engine, backing up and driving to park beside the 650s. The boss laughed at the sight of the almost perfect black vette, besides a bit of dust from the road, there wasn't a scratch on it. But he was laughing because of it's age. "You want to race a brand car meant for speed with… this? Don't get me wrong, she's a beauty, I'd love to have her in my collection. But… she's no race car boy, not compared to my baby. "

Lucifer however was not swayed, he just smirked darkly at the man. "Then we have a deal? " He asked, not seeming phased by the age and thus, technology difference of the cars. "Hell yeah, you have a deal. You can pick where we race even, pick wisely though. " The Devil was pleased to this, gazing around the desert they were in… "I pick the Devil's Ridge, north of here, you know it? "

At that mention, a hint of shock did cross over the boss's expression, almost… a lace of fear. "That's a dangerous road to drive on at average speeds… you sure you want to race up there? " Lucifer replied with a firm nod, hand resting on the steering wheel of his corvette. "I do indeed, tonight preferred. The road is much more exciting to drive on at night, with the stars and moon high above you. You did say you wanted a dangerous race, correct? " He pointed out in the end, smirking rather smugly.

The boss seemed unsure, not a lot per say but a little. After some thought though, he nodded. "Alright, see you there at midnight then, sharp. I will not excuse people being late. And come alone. I will have my friend here take the kiddo up to the top of the ridge. First racer to the top tonight wins. " He told the Devil, who found it fair enough. "Very well, see you then. "

Lucifer then proceeded to drive off, but went slower than usual, as he waited for the detective to get in her car and go. The boss was talking to the gunman about something else, so the Devil hoped his female friend could drive off with him without anyone noticing. Sure enough, the sounds of two engines running instead of one did not click, as they were too busy with their current tasks.

Chloe and Lucifer went back to the police station, in which Chloe was furious at Lucifer. "What the Hell are you doing? Why won't you just let the police handle this? Why this race? " She asked him, waving her hands a little but not insanely so, just understandably frustrated. Lucifer however just shrugged in his car, relaxing back in the seat. "He wants a dangerous race, so I'm giving it to him. Then I'll have that urchin back with us to question. Personally I think it's a lovely plan. " He said, soon getting out of the corvette and standing before the blonde woman.

She sighed though, shaking her head. "Of course you would.… we could have just arrested them, taken them in and question where the girl was. " She pointed out, crossing her arms now to try and let Lucifer know how unhappy she was. "And risk a one of us getting shot? Again? Who knows what could have happened to the small human. My way, no shots were fired, so what's the problem? "

Chloe narrowed her eyes, trying to think… He did have a point, it had a chance of ending up a shootout but it didn't, if Chloe made herself known, they might have opened fire and hit her and possibly Lucifer too. "I just… we have rules and guidelines Lucifer, we need to follow them, and what if you lose?" She still didn't want him to think this was okay after all. But it didn't seem to do much good as he just gave her his classic charming smirk. "No promises detective on the former, but don't worry about me losing. They don't call it my ridge for nothing " He said, honest no doubt about the first part… But annoyingly so. She chose to ignore the second part though.

After that, they spent most of the time gathering more evidence, now convinced the kidnappers of the child are separate from the initial murder. It seemed the girl was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, twice. Extremely unlucky, but both Lucifer and Chloe planned to help end her bad luck streak. The orphan had the Devil on her trail now, so to speak, but this time it was a good thing, rather than bad.

By 11pm, most of the department had gone home, but Lucifer and Chloe still remained with a few others, Ella being among them. "You're going to race on Devil's Ridge? " The short dark haired woman asked, making a whistling sound afterwards, glancing at Chloe for a moment before back to Lucifer. "I dunno man, that sounds pretty crazy to me. "

Chloe crossed her arms and nodded in agreement, hoping the scientist could talk some sense into her Devilish partner. "I'll be fine, it's named after me; come now, how can I not race on it? " He exclaimed a bit, seeming a bit too stubborn to give in. "And I'm going alone, he said no one else and I don't need anyone anyway. I'll win the race, bring the creature back here, we question it and be on our way to catching our killer and also catching kidnappers all in one neat package. " He gestured at the end with his hands, a light tying of a bow motion.

"What? I'm not going with you? " Chloe asked, surprised. She did hear him say that but she didn't think Lucifer would go along with that promise. "No you're not, if nothing else he'd probably call the race off and even harm the small human because of it. " Plus if the off chance he crashed, he'd prefer to survive it unharmed and not have to deal with mortality, but he wasn't going to tell her that, she wouldn't listen to him anyway.

He did have a point of the child being harmed….. Making her grit her teeth. "Fine… Fine, but you better be right about this Lucifer, a little girl's life is in your hands, don't screw it up. " The Devil held up his hands in a mock surrender, smirking. "The human spawn will be fine, do not worry detective. " Ella looked worried, watching the two with wary eyes… She would not want to have to be that kid. "Whatever man, I hope it goes as well as you hope. " She told them, before even she left to go home.

Chloe took a deep breath then, facing Lucifer with a softer expression. "You should probably go now… huh? LA traffic can be rough… and you don't want to be late. " Lucifer's expression softened a little too, causing him to merely give a nod to her question. "Yes…. I'll see you in the morning, when it's all over. " The detective did wonder at the back of her mind… by the time the race was over, she'd be long asleep…. So this made her not protest when he said morning, because that's probably when it'd have to be, but what would he do with the little girl in that time… Not that she thought he'd hurt her or anything but she knew he was not fond of kids.

The two bid goodbye though since it was getting late, Lucifer confident but Chloe was worried, wishing she could have went to at least be backup in case these guys decided not to be honest. Lucifer meanwhile took his corvette of course, driving almost like a sane human being in the nightly traffic. Soon enough streetlights, cars and building were replaced with brush, sand and open space.

A small cloud of dust trailed the corvette, some sand getting stuck in Lucifer's hair as he drove past the gas station, heading towards a ridge looking place. The boss was at the base of the road, leaning against his red McLaren. He looked surprised to see Lucifer pull up. "So you did come. " He voiced, smirking as he gazed over the black 'vette. "Thought you might have reconsidered, but I'm not complaining. " To him, he was about to be handed a beautiful C1 for free.

Lucifer chuckled from the older human's words, a dark smirk on his face. "I have a small human to win, so I can't exactly change my mind. Plus a deal is a deal, one I hope you will uphold. " His tone turned serious at the end, almost dangerous, dangerous enough to make the boss feel a small shiver run down his spine. "Well… let's get started then. "

The Devil pulled up to the base of the road first, before stopping and idling until the boss pulled up beside him. The two males shared glances, both hands gripping the steering wheel with confidence. Two engines purred together, the McLaren's whine nearly drowning out the low rumble of the little, American sports car. "You do realise this baby's top speed is about double of that corvette, right? " The driver of the McLaren asked Lucifer.

Lucifer laughed though, shaking his head in amusement. "You're not going over 200 miles an hour on Devil's Ridge, do that and more than this race will be over. " He pointed out, gazing towards the road now, dark brown eyes having a eerie look about them. The older looking male swallowed a little, realising the Devil had a good point…. This was a dangerous road, speed was far from the only factor here. He now realised why Lucifer picked this road, but he did say dangerous so… he couldn't complain.

A lady that Lucifer didn't notice before stepped in front of them, holding a white cloth in her hand. "First racer to the top takes the little girl, the only rules are no contact. This is not a race to the death and both cars here today are too beautiful to wreck. Take care gentlemen and may the best racer win. " She told the two, before she raised the cloth up. "Ready… " She paused, watching the two. She was used to seeing the boss, but this other man was… something was off about him, she did not like the look in his eyes. "Get set… "

The boss glanced to Lucifer then, but he was too focused on the road ahead and his plan of takeoff to not hit the lady. What felt like forever to Lucifer was just a few seconds, as at last she dropped the cloth. "Go!" She cheered, sitting still so she wouldn't get killed by one of the racers and they could go around her.

The McLaren took off faster than the Corvette, as to be expected. But Lucifer did not let this discourage him as he followed right behind. The start of the road was the safest as it was straight for a while, which allowed the 650s to get pretty far ahead. Both men had prideful smirks on their faces though, one thinking he just earned a free Corvette, the other however knowing the race was very far from over.

When the first turn came, the red hypercar turned too sharply and quickly started to skid way out, almost bumping into the bankment. The owner hit the brakes to keep from crashing, which gave Lucifer the opening he needed. With practiced skill Lucifer slowed just enough to make the turn properly, then speeding back up once on flat road.

Lucifer was minorly surprised, as old as the man was, he knew there was a good chance he did race on dirt before. But from that mess up, it looks like he did not. Which was a very good thing, as long as the Devil didn't slip up himself, he should win. Gritting his teeth, the boss stepped on the gas, trying to catch up to him quick. But upon going faster, the car was even harder to control on the loose dirt and rocks, causing him to swerve occasionally but dangerously.

Lucifer meanwhile hugged the curves of the road for each turn, a semi large rock poking up narrowly missed the Corvette's underbelly, there was thankfully just enough ground clearance to avoid damage. He did slip a little once when he accidentally went a little faster, but quickly corrected himself, slowed down and was back on track within a few moments.

The McLaren kept slipping, due to the driver's handling of the car. The owner started to wonder if someone did something to his car to act this way. He raced many of times on the backstreets of LA, this should not be any different, right? Seeing the rock Lucifer was able to barely drive over, the 650s had to swerve around it, since it was even lower to the ground then the Corvette was.

He swerved away from the deathly cliff, but instead he was unable to correct soon enough to get back on track. The front tire dropped into the ditch, making the car lean sideways quite a bit. The boss cursed and stepped on the gas hard to get out, but instead it did the reverse, instead of getting out, the tire just dug itself deeper into the dirt.

Lucifer glanced in his side mirror to see if the McLaren was behind him, but instead he didn't see him at all…. "Oops." He commented to himself, smirking. He doubted he fell off the edge, the sound of a crash would've been quite noticeable. So the Devil was not concerned and did not slow down, after all he was not to the end yet. There was a few more rocks, big enough where even he had to swerve around them, but made sure not to oversteer himself into the ditch.

The McLaren was still stuck and after a bit longer of trying and only making it worse, the driver decided to get out and check just exactly what was going on. At this point he knew he lost the race, but he still needed his car unstuck. He'd probably have to dig himself out of the hole… Or maybe there was a rock or log he could put under there for something solid the tire can grab onto.

A few more turns that Lucifer was able to take his time on and he made it to the top, where a few thugs and that gunman from the gas station was waiting at. They looked surprised to see him and not their boss. "Where is he? " The gunman asked as Lucifer parked the Corvette and turned off the engine. "Somewhere back behind me, probably got stuck. I don't think he fell off the cliff but who knows, maybe he did. " The Devil replied in a casual tone, smirking.

The thugs looked at each other, unsure if they should believe him or not… "Well… race rules were that first racer to the top gets the kiddo. But if we find out you rammed him off the ridge, we will come back. " One of the older thugs threatened, before the younger gunman walked to where that old truck from before was parked up here. He opened the back to reveal the little girl tied up and gagged back there.

Lucifer smiled to their words however. "Lovely, pleasure doing business with you all~ " The Devil walked up to the back of the truck, the young child whimpering a bit as she had no idea of this stranger's intentions for her and he didn't exactly look like the nicest man around. He didn't say anything though and just began to untie the gag from around her head, letting her mouth free. "W-who are you?" She asked once she was able to, but that wasn't the surprising part, she spoke Spanish. He knew how to speak Spanish back, but it did make him wonder where she came from. California wasn't that far from Mexico he guessed but still...

He was just about to reach behind her to untie her hands when she asked, taking note of her scared voice. "Lucifer, now be still so I can untie you." He replied back in her language. He couldn't lie after all and frankly wasn't that concerned if she did know the connection. The name for some reason did sound ominous to her, but she did not know why. But she did as he asked and kept still for him, feeling his arms reach behind her to untie her wrists. She was also surprised how well he was able to speak to her, often times people here couldn't understand or only partly understood.

The child was still nervous, but she did take the opportunity to rest her head against his chest, hearing the at ease steady heartbeat behind the layers of clothing, having hope inside that he wouldn't hurt her and was here to help. It was all fairly short lived when he pulled away though, since her hands were now free. "M-my name is Isabella…" She shyly spoke, since Lucifer gave her his name it seemed proper to return the favor.

Lucifer paused for a moment, he supposed he should attempt to be nice… After all he now realised since the detective wasn't awake yet, they'd have to be stuck with each other until morning. What was he going to do with a small Spanish child overnight? "Right, well Isabella you'll have to come along with me, it's important." He told her, though didn't want to say exactly why or what in front of the others.

She looked a little wary, these guys were of course not nice, but she still did not know this Lucifer man at all. But she also didn't want to make him mad either and she kinda had a lack of choices here. It was pretty much go with him or stay here with her kidnappers, who she knew were mean. This man couldn't be any worse then them, right? If only the innocent child knew how much worse it could be…

Still, she would not find out from Lucifer, for he may not like children that much but he wouldn't hurt one either. Seeing Isabella hesitate he sighed. "It's alright, we just need your help, okay?" He suggested, forcing his tone to be less annoyed and more coaxing. She watched him still with a wary gaze, but soon slipped down from the truck and landed beside him, stumbling a moment but corrected herself quickly.

Looking at her now more closely, the black haired, brown eyed girl looked frail, more frail than she should be. She was probably malnourished he figured, Chloe would probably get her something to eat tomorrow he suspected. The young gunman walked up to the pair, the girl making a soft scared sound and scooting closer to Lucifer's hip, but kept her arms around herself thankfully. "We'll take the truck back down and look for our boss. " He informed the Devil, before walking around them to close up the back.

"Right, let us be off then." He said out loud in English to the others, feeling a slight tugging pressure on the back of his coat when he began walking. But from the feel it seemed she was just holding onto him instead of trying to get his attention, so he kept walking back towards his Corvette, just in time for the truck to start up, all the thugs and the woman to gather up inside and start driving back down the ridge.

It was really late now, probably one or two in the morning, since the race began at midnight. He guessed one, it didn't feel like it's been two hours already. He opened the driver side of the Corvette before pausing, turning to face the child who still wanted to hold onto his coat. "Have you ever rode in a convertable, child?" He asked her, tilting his head to one side a little.

Isabella blinked at him, looking between his gaze to the car with no roof. She wasn't sure what convertable meant, but before she could ask, she was interrupted by a sudden yawn. She normally would be asleep by now, but the time with the kidnappers was not exactly restful. Once it was over, she shook her head no, giving brief rub to her eyes.

Of course, he suspected as much, but the yawn did make him realise how late it was. He was fine with staying up this late, but he was not a small human child either. Lucifer sighed some and gently laid his hand on her shoulder, attempting to guide her towards the passanger side as he began to speak. "Very well, I suppose the main thing you need to know is the wind-" He was cut off when he felt she was cool to the touch.

She looked up at him innocently, wondering why he stopped guiding and talking at the same time and just stared at her. "Bloody Hell, you're cold to the touch." He said, taking his hand off of her. She was a bit cold, but being so small and on her own, she was kinda used to it, since she often had to sleep outside. Isabella hung her head a little though, wondering if he was mad. "I'm sorry…" She said, almost a bit pitifully.

The Devil shook his head, resting his warm hand back on her shoulder again. "No need, but I don't think you should ride in the Corvette this late. The wind will be cold." It wasn't that cold in the grand scheme of things in LA, or even California in general, but for a frail orphan child with no jacket, she might catch a cold. The Detective would be furious at him if he let her catch a cold probably… plus he was not fond of allowing small humans to suffer, even if he didn't like them all that much. Isabella made a soft whimpering sound, hanging her head sadly for some reason. "A-are you going to leave me here then?" She asked, clearly not wanting to be left behind and for good reason. Lucifer chuckled, a tad amused but answered quickly to not make her too upset. "No, I just have to figure out how to bring you with me comfortably." He answered, silence filling the area between them now as she calmed down, but now wondered what he had in mind.

He looked to the trunk of the Corvette for a moment… she could fit in there, but it probably wouldn't be very comfortable… and she'd probably be upset at him for it, plus the detective would also disapprove. The idea of stuffing the child inside somewhere enclosed though did give him another idea, something arguably better. He glanced down at himself with a light smirk, a trunk was not very cozy, but he knew of somewhere soft, warm and enclosed that she would be cozy in.

She watched him curiously, pouting a moment when he looked at the trunk, she didn't really want to go in there…. But then he did something odd, looking at himself with that smirk, it was almost unsettling. "W-what?" She asked, swallowing a little nervously. What did the man have in that mind of his…

Sure, he could just put the top back on, but… it wasn't very comfortable for him, he was kinda too tall for it and it was not very fun. But what he had in mind now was comfortable for them both, a soft gurgle from his stomach being confirmation to that. But he was snapped out of the thought process a little when the child spoke to him again, almost sounding nervous… Well, she had every right to be, the Devil had just thought about devouring her whole and alive and, for all intents and purposes, he still was.

He shifted his weight a little on his feet, debating on what to tell her. "I merely figured out a comfortable way to get you down off this ridge, child. If you would trust and humor me." He replied, his gaze now focused on her. Isabella fiddled with the edges of her shirt with her little fingers, unsure if she was ready to trust him that much, since he seemed unwilling to tell her too easily. "W-what was your idea mister Lucifer?" She asked, clearly still hesitant and the way she said his name made it clear she was still a little nervous.

Lucifer didn't feel thrilled about telling her, worried she will take off running as soon as he did so. Small humans were not too keen on being devoured at first, but usually once they were inside they calmed down. He sighed and leaned a bit on the back of the corvette, clearly debating something. "Bringing you somewhere close and keeping you there until we get back." He answered, watching her closely to see how she took it. At the moment Isabella just looked confused, thankfully not knowing exactly what he meant. "I-is it safe?" She asked, which was a good question to him.

He smiled as nicely as he could, though it still came off as a bit smirk-y and not very reassuring. "Yes, I promise it's indeed very safe for you. Soft and warm as well, you should be quite comfortable inside." He was not lying, he refused to lie anyway despite what they say about the Devil and lies. But he felt telling her the nicer aspects would help convince her and allow him to coax her inside. Isabella did smile softly to that, a glint of happiness in her eyes… It has been a very long time since she was in a safe, warm and soft place. She was lucky to get the first, but often times being safe meant it was cold and hard and uncomfortable. Or often times, it wasn't even safe, just all she could find for the night.

Isabella smiled wider, hope and happiness filling her eyes as she stepped closer to Lucifer, the promise of being warm, snug and secure was too much to pass up, of course she did not know she was about to be consumed, but Lucifer would soon find out if that bothered her or not, as long as what he said was true perhaps she wouldn't care it was his stomach. He hoped it wouldn't, calming frightened children was not his strong suit by any stretch of imagination.

Lucifer did not want to strike just yet, wanting to make sure she was indeed giving him permission to proceed. Though the big hopeful eyes looking up at him was almost a good enough indication. "O-okay then, y-you can do what you have in m-mind, I trust y-you." She confirmed, wrapping her arms around herself now as she waited. She had no idea what to expect from him, but she braced herself for what she felt would be anything. Only time will tell if she was braced enough.

The Devil took a deep breath but smiled, glancing at his hand on her shoulder again before back to her face. "Lovely, now first thing's first, I am going to have to make you smaller for this, you'll fit more comfortably." Otherwise she'd be pretty cramped and he wasn't feeling quite that hungry. That confused the child a bit already, but she didn't pull away. How was he going to make her smaller though? That was impossible, right? Plus she was already pretty small…

Isabella then started to feel a little dizzy, her spine tingling in a strange way. The girl made a moaning sound, one hand going up to her forehead while her eyelids closed some, almost feeling like she was drugged, if she knew what that felt like. The child didn't look, but Lucifer watched as he caused her to slowly dwindle in size, having to lower his hand further and further until his knees started to bend to keep up.

Thankfully she didn't try to step away, but when she opened her eyes, she was faced with Lucifer's knees, and her forward view continued to lower further and further, steady but consistent. She gasped, looking straight up now at his face, then to the much larger than before hand almost engulfing her entire side, shoulder and she felt warm fingers curled around her back.

A scream threatened to escape her throat, this man was many times bigger than her now and it spiked a natural fear in her to be afraid of things bigger than she was. The shrinking continued but she kept as still as she could, not wanting to anger him. She did agree so… It was her fault, she just hoped he was not lying when he said it was safe in wherever she was going.

She managed to hold the scream in as she dwindled to just four inches tall, now able to see the red bottoms of Lucifer's shoes, what a strange color choice she thought. The Devil's hand was like a heated wall now, the palm about as tall as she was now. "There we go, good job darling~" He praised, his voice now a little louder, deeper and more imposing. His hand pulled away to rest on his knee, a light smirk on his lips now.

With the warm wall gone, the chill of the wind was getting to her, but so was her worries. The smirk did not help her nerves and she found herself taking a small step back, shivering both from the cold and the situation. It dawned on her at this point that the man must not have been human. Humans can't shrink people after all, so… who and what was he? And what did he really want with her?

He allowed her to back away a little, after all she was still very much within his reach and didn't have anywhere to really go. "Child, you did give me permission and it's not getting any earlier. Can we skip the scared out of your wits step at least until after this next step?" He asked bluntly, clearly not having endless patience at the moment. He was not angry persay, annoyed maybe though.

Isabella bit her little lip, the blunt tone of his voice made her quickly aware of her stepping backwards, so she stopped. Though her mind did wander to various images of what the 'next step' was. What did Lucifer have in mind for her? "I'm s-sorry… j-just please don't hurt m-me." She told him a little pitifully, lowering her head some, as if she wasn't short enough at this point.

The Devil waved a dismissive hand, a smirk gracing his lips again. "I wasn't planning to, just be still and everything will be fine, I assure you." His tone was lighter hearted this time, which helped ease her a tiny bit. He then reached down towards her with the hand that was on his knee, slipping it under her with little warning. The tiny child squeaked and fell softly onto her rear in his palm, due to the moving uneven surface. She guessed it was the only thing he could do with her to get her off the ground but it was all so surreal. Not wanting to fall off, she stayed down and just waited as he slowly lifted her up to be level with his chest, then in a fluid motion he stood up, taking her with him.

It felt like she was on the top of a skyscraper building, but she knew better deep down. Isabella took a deep breath then to try and calm her nerves, closing her eyes and whispering to herself a few times that everything will be okay. When she opened her eyes again, she was greeted by Lucifer's face suddenly, smirking at her in amusement. He must have noticed her talking to herself or something… She didn't say anything and just shyly looked down, those big dark eyes of his were a little intimidating to look at. For some reason she didn't even notice him lifting her to his face.

She started to think back of what he told her of his plan, somewhere soft, warm and safe…. Was he just going to carry her in his pocket? It didn't seem as scary as he acted like though, so her mind wasn't quite settled on that being the answer. "Right, I believe it's time for the next step. Don't worry, it's a very soft ride down." He announced to her, making his voice softer to take in account of her delicate ears. Soft ride down? Down where she wondered? She supposed she'll find out soon enough.  
Isabella looked back up as she felt his warm breath blow over her from his talking, only in time to see those lips open further than needed and with no words coming out. The child frowned, confused as to what he was doing as his jaws opened further and further, but it actually wasn't that wide in the grand scheme of things, moeso about halfway, His lips still covered his teeth well enough except just the very tips of the front upper set. A soft, clean tongue laid lightly at the bottom of the mouth, but not for long.

She watched as his tongue lifted up and slipped past his teeth, his face leaning forward then to gently scoop her up with the slippery muscle. She tried backing away before it got too close, but he was swift and accurate as the tongue curled back inside of his mouth with her on it, his lips closing behind her to seal her inside. It was a soft, gentle action, but now it was dark, though the softness and warmth wasn't so bad, the fact she was in his jaws was bad. She wanted to speak up, but she was too nervous and confused, her mind muddled with numerous what if questions and none of them all too pleasant.

Lucifer outside meanwhile smirked a little, cradling her small form with his tongue, while keeping her away from his teeth. He didn't wish to hurt her after all and his teeth were plenty dangerous to someone so small. But once she was deeper inside, she'll be safe, out of his way and out of mind of everyone else until morning at least. He didn't hear any screams or wailing of fright, so he suspected she was holding it together.

He tasted dirt off of her at first, which was not a overly pleasant taste to say the least, her cold body did send a chill up his spine for a moment too. But after his saliva soaked the unpleasant flavor off the child, a sweeter, but mild taste hit him, her true flavor no doubt. The Devil hummed to this in a pleased manner, softly curling his tongue around Isabella to taste her a little and get the rest of that dirt off of her.

He heard a muffled tiny squeak when he did so, but otherwise did not hear or feel any other protests. He did take care to not squeeze too hard, be too rough or accidentally smother her. It was not an easy task but one he had some practice with. She wasn't the only human he devoured and probably won't be the last. She was one of the more quieter ones though, whether it was because she trusted him that well or she was just so frightened she was frozen he couldn't tell. As long as she kept quiet and still though, he was fine with either reason.

Lucifer kept it up for a few more moments, the child proving to be a rather sweet little treat as he leaned on the Corvette slowly, but he knew the little girl must be tired and frankly he wouldn't mind getting back to Lux sooner rather than later either. So he flattened out his tongue again, releasing her from it's squishy grip. The child flailed a little to sit upright, feeling her limbs knock into his teeth and the roof of his mouth a little by accident, but not too hard. He kept still until she seemed done, not really wanting that flailing in his gullet.

Eventually she was a little curled up ball on his tongue, small and easy to swallow he thought. So he used his tongue to gently nudge her back towards his throat, the child oddly not struggling against him and just keeping very still. Perhaps she thought if she was good and kept still, he wouldn't harm her. Well she was half right, he wasn't going to hurt her anyway but being still made it all easier for them both and less likely for her to get hurt by accident.

Once she was far enough back, the Devil took a firm swallow, his muscles eagerly grabbing the child and pulling her inside while his Adam's apple bobbed up, then back down. It felt similar to when one swallowed a almost too large piece of food, where it's rather tight but not quite enough to make you choke. At this point though he felt her shivering against the throat walls, she was nervous, that much was certain now. But by how much? Just natural fear or was she truly afraid of him and what may happen to her inside of him? He couldn't quite tell with not being able to see her.

It was strange, he felt the pressure she created all the way from his neck and then into his chest, though a little more faint. It didn't hurt, in fact at this point it should be impossible for her to hurt him. A few moments later of the tight lumpy feeling inside and it vanished just below his ribcage, Isabella must have slipped into his stomach, her final destination of this little venture until morning. Lucifer's belly gave a light gurgle to her arrival, but he knew nothing would happen unless he wanted it to and he had no desire to harm the child. So his stomach should serve as just a soft, squishy cave with a light inside for her to rest in.

Lucifer rested one hand over his middle, smirking lightly to himself as he felt faint fluttery feelings inside from her moving around. He wasn't sure what she was looking for, but assumed it was one of two things, a comfortable spot to lie down or a escape. The former she'd have more success at than the latter. He waited until the fluttering stopped, which happened to be not far from his hand. Obviously she didn't find an escape so it must have been a comfortable spot the tiny child was looking for. The Devil's belly had no lack of comfortable spots, since the whole chamber was soft warm squishiness.

He gave a tender, soft rub to his abdomen, the little human inside giving a surprised but muffled yelp from it that he could barely hear, but it did make him chuckle a bit, amused. He thought maybe some soft attention would ease her nerves, show that she was not just devoured as a snack to be forgotten about. But he decided to end the soft rubbing motion after a few moments with a light pat, not too hard to jostle her though, before he spoke up. "Make sure you are comfortable small child, I am going to start driving us down off this ridge." He informed his small guest, then not waiting for an answer he got off the Corvette and walked around to the driver side door.

Lucifer sat down in the black old sports car and started the engine with the keys that were still in the ignition, letting it run for a little bit before shifting it into gear and starting to turn around to face the road back down. He paused for a moment to make sure no one was coming, like the McLaren driver. It seemed clear though so he stepped on the gas and started the drive back down to the desert floor, fully expecting to see the thugs on the way down but he did not intend on stopping. It was late enough and frankly was not his problem whether they got the car loose or not.

Being in the Devil's stomach was very odd, it was a little scary being eaten at first for Isabella, but she quickly found out that everything he said was true. It was very warm, not too much at the moment but warmer than she expected, everything was soft, squishy and slippery, while the slippery part was a little annoying the soft squishy part was…. surprisingly nice. And so far it seemed safe, nothing bad was happening to her after all. Plus there was a soft white glow in the belly, which kept it from being dark and thus, it was all less scary.

She was laying against the front wall, having previously been drawn there by his hand. Said hand was too busy steering the Corvette now, but she enjoyed the feeling when it was there. With each minute that past she felt more and more safe and less nervous. It was a bit scary being shrunken and devoured so effortlessly, but far as she could tell he had nice intentions. The engine of the car caused her little home to vibrate a little, probably because Lucifer's entire body vibrated a little from it. It didn't really bother the child though.

Beyond the muffled sounds outside, she heard more powerful sounds coming from inside the body she was nestled in, mainly the Devil's powerful heart beating above her and the swooshing sound of each breath he took, both in and out. There were faint other sounds too, then of course the stomach's occasional gurgle or groan. Despite all the noise, Isabella noticed that it'd be extremely easy to fall asleep in here. The warmth, the softness, the security from danger, the heartbeat, the fact she's been awake for way too long already…. Lucifer hadn't done anything yet to make her not trust him really, sure this was a surprise but he still was telling the truth the whole time.

The tiny child yawned, shifting to lay on her side more comfortably against one of the stomach folds. Normally it'd be highly advised against to put your life in the hands of someone you barely knew and fall asleep in their presence, alone. But Isabella didn't have many choices, she clearly was not getting out of his belly anytime soon and frankly, she didn't want to. Sure she was frightened at first, but not so much anymore, she had a safe little space here and she felt it'd be wasteful not to take advantage on catching some much needed Zs.

She still wasn't sure what he wanted from her, now that her already slipping into a sleepy state mind thought about it. He did not ever tell her… She tried to remember what it could be, all she could think about was that one night she saw someone get hurt in that alleyway, but she was sure Lucifer was not that man, the killer was shorter and talked much different. Lucifer's voice was pretty unique to the child's ears, she'd know it from anywhere now.

Isabella recalled one of the things he said, we need your help… we… There was more than just him? Thankfully she had little to worry about when sleep finally claimed her, pausing all thoughts about the situation to be replaced with blissful slumber. She didn't even notice when she fell asleep, all she knew was that she did and it felt wonderful, peaceful and like she didn't want to have to wake up for another year or two.

Of course she'd have to wake up by tomorrow, but she did not know when. The child assumed he'd take care of that, keep her nestled in his stomach for as long as she could sleep and release her once it was time to wake up. It was so nice to be warm, safe and comfortable… she hadn't felt this in as long as she could remember, she would be happy to help Lucifer with whatever he needed her for, she just hoped she could and he wasn't mistaken.

Lucifer didn't take long to get down the ridge and now was on flat ground, driving back into the big city of LA. He now just used one hand to steer, the other resting on the edge of the windshield, though after having to stop at a red light, he glanced down at his middle, where a tiny orphan child was nestled in. It was odd to him how at first she was afraid, then quickly turned happy and content without hardly a word from him. He was not going to complain about the easiness of the child, but it was definitely odd.

Once he heard the car in front of him start driving again, he looked back up to see the light was green so he did the same. Lucifer decided to just go to Lux and take her to the police station in the morning, that way she could stay in his stomach until morning, then he could get her cleaned up since she was pretty easy to handle, didn't give him much of a fuss. For a child she was a fairly easy to please one, even for him.

He drive for a little while longer before parking in front of Lux, tossing his keys to a young man standing outside, a silent request for him to park it for the Devil. He then walked inside the quiet nightclub, since he didn't open it and called today off for the case, no one was really around. It made things simple to not have workers and customers to deal with.

He took a short ride up a elevator past a few floors to the very top of the building, a ding signaling his arrival though no one was really around to hear it. He waited until the doors slid open before stepping into his abode, the Devil heading straight to the bedroom area. He shed his suit to put on a black and crimson nightgown, combing his hair again for the night so it wouldn't look too messed up in the morning.

It wasn't often Lucifer went a night without a bit of pleasure, but tonight he'd have to behave himself and while he was not overly thrilled about it, he was able to cope with it. It helped Isabella was not annoying to him or anything, so he wasn't too on edge and a casual rest almost sounded good right about now.

With a stretch of his back and shoulders, he laid down in the soft black covers among the many little pillows he had and relaxed, faintly feeling his guest shift and slip around a little in his stomach from the sudden shift of gravity and what was 'up' and what was 'down'. He smirked a little to himself and laid a arm over his middle, yawning afterwards before soon after slipping off into a peaceful sleep.

Isabella had no idea what time it was, how much time has past or anything like that. But she woke up still within the fleshy, warm confines of Lucifer's stomach, saliva coated her from head to toe, getting in her hair and everything. It was a little yucky but she ignored it to shift into a sitting position, then tried to focus on the movements to figure out what he was doing. She was pretty sure he was standing, but kept moving back and forth… it was strange.

Turns out, he was in the bathroom, looking for his hair dryer. Mazikeen must have used it and placed it somewhere else, or one of his many guests…. Hell, it could have been almost anyone really. "Bloody Hell, where is it… " He muttered, clearly not too happy as he searched.

The child heard his voice vibrate through the stomach walls, though it wasn't too scary as she didn't think he was mad at her, then again she couldn't understand him either so she wouldn't really know from that alone if he was. Isabella was just about to ask what was bothering him when he made a sound again, from the tone he sounded happier. "Ahah! "

He ended up finding the dryer tucked behind some towels, annoyingly enough. He was quite sure he didn't put it there intentionally, but either way he found it and that was the important part. He was aware the human was awake when he felt her moving around in his gut, so he stood up slowly from being crouched and walked to the bathroom sink, grabbing a small clean hand towel and plugging the dryer into the electric socket, but making sure the device was set to off first.

The little girl was curious about what he was doing, hoping she would find out soon as she leaned her tiny hands on the front stomach wall, looking up as she hoped he'd say something. "I noticed you are awake child, I'm going to let you out now and dry you off, we have somewhere to be." He said in a casual tone, this time in her language so she'd understand.

She didn't get much of a chance to respond once the words were done rumbling through her little body, as soon after the walls of the stomach began to close in. She squeaked and jumped back away from the front wall, landing on her rear on the floor of the stomach that was also raising up. The child wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but she hoped she knew what he was doing and to do so correctly.

Thankfully, he did. It took some focus as he rested one hand on the countertop, the other softly pressing against his stomach as he used his muscles to start squeezing her back up his throat. What was once just a fluttery feeling in the pit of his belly when she moved was now returning as a large lump being pushed back into his throat from the entrance to his stomach.

Lucifer made sure the muscles didn't squeeze too tightly, being so small it would be easy to accidentally squish the little one if he was careless. But if the occasional twitches and squirms were any indication, she was fine. He continued the process until he felt her in his chest, his large lungs working beside her on each side. At this point he grabbed the towel and held it before his mouth, head bent down a little.

His body of course wanted to pull her back down, this was reverse of what was natural after all. His muscles were not happy either, but it didn't hurt as much as it felt irritating. His neck muscles shifted next as she entered past his collarbone, passing by his Adam's apple again.

Lucifer opened his jaws at this point, his tongue coming out just enough to cover his bottom teeth and lip, a slimy squelch sounded out as she entered his mouth and slid down his slippery tongue, falling into the towel a few inches below with a slight plop. The towel was supported by his palm, at least where she landed anyway.

Strings of saliva connected from his lips, mouth and tongue to the child, in which he pulled away to break them off, then wiped his chin off on the towel corner. He heard Isabella giggle from the sight, small and almost endearing if he liked that sort of thing. Instead the Devil just gave her a confused look, before shaking his head.

A little bit of Lucifer's drool dripped and slid off the little girl, soaking into the black fuzzy towel strings. She kept mostly still though, little eyes wide and bright and happy, different from yesterday's tired, scared and not feeling too well. The only thing now is she probably could use some food, but… Chloe would probably have something on hand, or he could give her something to nibble on in the car on the way down.

For now, getting her dried was more important, so with both hands and a decent level of carefulness, he began to rub the towel against the child to dry off most of it and get the stomach substance off. He was rewarded with a giggling, wiggling little thing flailing around between his fingers, apparently being quite ticklish like… everywhere. He grinned a little, amused by the tiny giggles as he worked to fix her dark hair.

Soon Lucifer was done and he opened the towel back up, revealing a slightly disheveled child in the middle, who looked a little dizzy but still happy. He slipped the towel out from under her, leaving her in his bare palm of his right hand, where his ring was. He tossed the towel aside and grabbed the dryer with his free hand, checking to make sure it was in working order and nothing was stuck in either ends.

After all seemed well, he aimed the dryer at his palm and turned it on high. Which was… well, not good, but a bit comical. The force from the dryer caused the child to yelp and tip over on her back and from there she could barely move as she was blasted with warm air. It didn't really hurt, but she rolled over and grasped the band of his ring to make sure she didn't fall off.

The Devil blinked, confused at first before pointing the dryer at himself, frowning before flipping the switch to low. After that he pointed it back at Isabella, which was much better. It was still warm and strong enough to dry her, but not too strong it threatened to blow her off his hand.

She shifted to sit up after a few moments, letting the ring go to enjoy the warm drying air. They kept this up for a while until she started to get a bit too warm, then she tapped his palm to get his attention, as her tiny voice had no hope of reaching his ears beyond the sound of the dryer. It took a few tries but he got the signal and turned it off, laying it on top of the towel previously placed aside. "Thank you." She spoke up afterwards sweetly.

He didn't respond with words, just hummed in confirmation that he heard her, not trying to be mean per say as just not big on sentiment. At this point, he now crouched down again, gently lowering her down to the ground. "We can't have you at this size when we go down there, so let's get you back to normal." He stated, tipping his hand to encourage her to get off.

She complied, hopping onto the hard black floor and looking back up at him, wondering how he was going to go about this. One finger curled around her back and her tiny body soon began to tingle, answering her question quite effectively before she could even ask.

Lucifer watched as he slowly returned the child to her original size, first she grew to a foot though, which allowed him to curl his entire hand around her back, then another foot allowed him to straighten his own back and hunch over less. A few moments later and she was to her small child self, as big as she's going to get until she gets older anyway. She was still only about waist level, so small child was still quite fitting of a title.

Chloe felt a bit better today than she did yesterday, well, sleep wise that is. Emotionally she was still a wreck, there was no word from Lucifer about whether he got the little girl or not, a few what if questions entered his mind, like… what if they killed him? Or he crashed on that ridge? Or… She shook it off and checked her phone, hoping there was a text message or something that she just missed. But sadly, not a peep. "Come on Lucifer… " She muttered, clenching her phone in one hand and her coffee in the other hand as she made her way to her desk.

She past by Daniel, who glanced at her past a stack of papers, but seeing how stressed she looked he knew better than to say anything to her. So he stayed silent and went back to his paperwork, leaving her be to sit down and take a long drink from her coffee cup, attempting to relax. Just as she was about to try and call Lucifer, she heard a voice sound out from the halls. "Detective! I have returned! "

She sighed and looked up, watching Lucifer stroll inside the station, a smug smirk on his face, a sway of glee in his step as a familiar little orphan followed beside him, looking a little shy and nervous, but she was smiling too. "Lucifer! " Chloe exclaimed, standing up and feeling a combo of emotions, part of her wanted to punch him for not texting or calling her, the other part of her just wanted to be glad the mission was successful and they got the child. "Small human delivered Detective, in one piece no less. " He told her after coming up to her, gesturing to Isabella with one hand.

Chloe scoffed a little and shook her head…. then tilted her head. "You kept her overnight? " It was not like she didn't trust him per say, but she did wonder how he handled it… The man was not known for his child care after all. "Yes, it was pretty easy, the child was just pleased to be safe, thankfully. The creature is probably hungry though so you should feed it before you question it. " Lucifer answered, taking a step back now. "I trust you won't need me to question this one, so if you don't mind I'll stay here. "

Isabella just giggled at him, a bit like Trixie did when she thought he was just being funny. Chloe rolled her eyes but smiled, giving a playful punch to the Devil's shoulder. "Thanks for the effort Lucifer, I still don't agree on how you went about it but you got her back, that's all I can really ask." She told him genuinely, watching his facial expression soften a moment, but he seemed to have noticed and got uncomfortable, those Lucifer walls coming right back up as fast as they fell. "Right, of course, take care Detective, I will see you once you are done. "

Chloe nodded and offered her hand to Isabella, who timidly took it and followed her to the interrogation room. It was not needed per say to scare her, but it was safer and sometimes put people more at ease to spill what they saw.

In the end, with the child's help Lucifer and Chloe managed to get a identity and enough information on the killer to find him and catch him, but before Chloe could call child services to take Isabella, somehow the little girl managed to slip away back into the streets. Perhaps someday she will cross paths with the LAPD again, but one could not be sure of this. 


End file.
